She’s smart, articulate, and doesn’t mind going to dangerous places.Angelina Jolie?No, she’s Kristina Cassandra ‘KC’ Concepcion, the Philippines’ first National Ambassador Against Hunger."KC is the total package: she is beautiful, she is charming, she is articulate, she is smart, she is down to earth. She did not complain during our fairly difficult traveling around in Mindanao; she relished it,” said United Nations World Food Program (WFP) Country Director Valerie Guarnieri, in an interview with abs-cbnNews.comKC went to Pikit, North Cotobato February 18 where she distributed rice, formulated meals and took part in on-site feeding.“I mean the first thing that she said when we asked her to join our effort as the national ambassador against hunger was : ‘When can I go to Mindanao? I wanna go there as often as possible I really wanna see it for myself. I wanna help.’” Guarneri said. “And it’s that spirit that makes KC the perfect person for this job.”KC is the second ambassador against hunger from Southeast Asia after Indonesian TV and film actor Luna Maya.KC and DrewHollywood actress Drew Barrymore is a UN Goodwill Ambassador for the World Food Program. Guarnieri said KC and Barrymore also have similar traits."What I find about them that so similar is that both Drew and KC are so charming. I mean that’s the thing that comes across. I mean lots of people can be beautiful, but charm has something that comes all the way from the inside,” she said. “It’s something that people really respond to because beauty in itself can make you a little bit aloof, but with charm, you bring people to you and they want to listen to you and be with you.”Guarnieri said KC is a fast-learner.“When I first met her and I was talking to KC about hunger and the programs of the World Food Program in the Philippines, she just got it immediately. She really understood that hunger was such a basic issue, that food assistance was something that could not only address hunger but really make a difference in people’s lives,” she said. “And so it was just immediately apparent to me that she would be the voice of our programs of the people of Mindanao here and the Philippines.”She said KC also connected well with the community."When we were traveling with her in Cotabato it was just amazing to see how children reacted to her, how everybody reacted to her, they were so touched that she visited them that she cared about their issues,” Guarnieri said. "KC just has a tremendous appeal among young people, among adults."Screening, Security RisksIn a press conference February 21, KC revealed it wasn’t easy getting picked for the job by the UN."I went through a screening process for four months, and the [UN offices in] Rome and Thailand ang nag-screen. So, wala kaming kinalaman (we had nothing to do with it),” she said. “Pwedeng hindi ako ang napili (It could have been someone else), but in the end, I'm just very, very happy.”The UNWFP declined to name the other candidates.KC said there’s great risk in being an ambassador, but it’s worth taking.Her family also gave her full support despite the dangers that go with the work.Her stepfather, Senator Francis Pangilinan, who was at the press conference, said he was "very proud and very happy and excited” of KC’s new advocacy.“As a public servant, these are some of the issues that are close to my heart: how to address issues such as poverty, hunger and unemployment,” he said. “So her own participation and involvement is welcome, and I’m very proud her, and we hope to be able to continue provide her the guidance and advice as she goes to this new job.”Although KC’s mother, actress Sharon Cuneta, wasn’t at the press conferences, Pangilinan said her wife was also fully supportive of her daughter’s new mission in life."Same feeling,” he said. “Of course, may halong takot.”“We felt this is good. In the long run it’s her education… part of her personal growth and development, and I think this experience will also be a continuing education and enlightenment for her and experience for her,” Pangilinan said.To help her stepdaughter’s cause, Pangilinan committed P5 million from his priority development assistance fund for the Food for Education Program in Mindanao.WFP Country ProgramWFP is funded entirely by voluntary contributions. The major donors to WFP's emergency assistance program for people affected by the conflict in Mindanao are: multilateral funds (US$15.2 million); Japan (US$2.4 million), Spain ($1.47 million) Australia (US$1.4 million) and Germany (US$985,000).WFP returned to the Philippines in 2006 to contribute to a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Mindanao by addressing the food security needs of vulnerable people in conflict affected areas and by supporting the security of beneficiaries and their livelihoods.WFP's Food for Education Program in the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and adjacent areas uses food support as an incentive to promote school attendance and reduce dropouts in conflict-affected areas.Over the past year, it has increased enrolment by 40 percent and cut dropouts in assisted schools by providing monthly food support to more than 180,000 children in 800 schools.In addition to its school feeding program, WFP supports nearly one million people in Mindanao, including internally-displaced, pregnant and nursing mothers and others affected by the conflict.
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